Albany's Historic Whaling Station > Records

PAINTING - MELON HEADED WHALE

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Richard Ellis

c. 1975

Subcollections

Overview

Painting of dark grey/black whale, small head with a rounded melon, no discernible beak, and white lips, large dorsal fin and pointed, tapering flippers; gouache on blue card, framed and mounted with inscription (31).

Historical information

Collection of 106 of paintings by Richard Ellis that were selected by the Smithsonian Institution to form a traveling exhibit of the marine mammals of the world. The collection was purchased by Perth businessman Kevin Parry in 1985 and donated to Whale World, now known as Albany's Historic Whaling Station.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-128-RE1999.363

Item type

Artworks

Themes

Art and Design

Nature

Material

Card

Gouache

Paper

Perspex

Width

410 mm

Height or length

440 mm

Depth

15 mm

Weight

1.52 kg

Inscriptions and markings

MELON-HEADED WHALE (Peponocephala electra)

Originally classified in the genus Lagenorhynchus, this rare delphinid was only known from skeletal material until 1963, when a live specimen was caught in Japan. In 1965 some 500 if the same species appeared in Suruga Bay (Japan), and careful examination led to the establishment of a new genus, Peponocephala, which means "melon-head." Although this species closely resembles the pygmy killer whale (Feresa), it is solid black where the pygmy killer has a darker "cape:. The Pepocephala has smaller teeth, indicating that it feed on smaller prey. Both species reach a length of about 7 1/2 feet.
31.

Verso: Smithsonian label checklist # 31 Packing case # 3, AWHS accession number

Contextual information

The paintings represent a body of work by well-known American marine conservationist, author, artist and natural historian Richard Ellis (1938-2024).

Keywords

Richard Ellis

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

Smithsonian Institution

Marine Mammals

Place made

United States

Year

c. 1975